Cultivator.



PATENTED MAR. 24,1903, 0. L. SWANSON.

GULTIVATOR.

urmouron FILED AUG.11, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- H0 MODEL.

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0. L. SWANSON.

' OULTIVATOR.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

CARL L. SWANSON, OF BLUE RAPIDS, KANSAS.-

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 723,422, dated March 24, 1903. Application filed August 11, 1902. Serial No. 119,23 8. (No model.)

cultivators, and especially to that class of machines wherein two gangs are connected by a seat-plank.

The chief features of my invention reside adj usi ably in the means employed for preventing the gangs from tipping laterally, the independent lateralvadjustment of the disks and shovels,

the manner of connecting the hand-levers tov the disk-arms and the rocker-shafts carrying the shovel-beams, and the convenient arrangement of the hand-levers whereby they may be operated from the seat, so that the driver need not dismount to adjust the machine.

In addition to the above the invention may also be said to consist in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims, it of course being understood that changes in form, size, and minor detail may be made within the scope of the claims without sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of one of the gangs with the seat-plank in cross-sectionand the near ground-wheel removed. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the same with the seat-plank broken away to show the mechanism below. Fig. 3 is a detail cross-section of the rear rocker-shaft,

showing its central support. Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of one of the depending brackets. Fig; 5 is a detail vertical cross-section of the tongue, taken on line V V of Fig. 1, showing parts of the mechanism connected thereto.

As the mechanism of the machine is in duplicate with the exception of the seat-plank, I have shown and described but a single gang.

The ground-wheels l are journaled on stubshafts 2, secured .to the lower ends of arms 3, suitably secured to a transverse rocker-shaft 4, journaled in the forward bearings 5 of triangular brackets 6, depending from the 0pposite'under sides of a ring 7, arranged in an approximately horizontal plane upon the rear portion of the tongue 8. Ring 7 is rigidly secured upon the tongue by the bolts 9 10, which project upwardly and pass through the front and rear portions of the ring and are provided with spacing-sleeves ll, surmounted by a similar upper ring 12, held upon the sleeves by nuts 13. Ring 12 is reinforced by a transverse bar 14, secured thereon by bolts and nuts 14 and 14, respectively, in order that said ring may successfully resist without bending the severe strains brought thereon by the tendency of the seat-plank 15 to twist and tip.

The gangs are adjustably connected by seat-plank 15, the opposite end portions of which are inserted in spaces-16 between the rings and secured by bolts 17, extending up from the tongues through the central end portions of the cross-bars and provided at their upper threaded ends with nuts 18,which are screwed down upon the cross-bars, and thus provide axes for the independent turning of each gang. One of the ends of the plank may be pivotally secured to its bolt in the well-known manner, while the opposite end is provided with a slot 19, whereby it reciprocably engages its bolt, and I provide said latter bolt with a sleeve 20, which extends from the tongue to the under side of the cross-bar to prevent the latter from being depressed by nut 18 into frictional contact with the seat-plank and also to reinforce and prevent the bolt frombending in the slot.

By arranging the end portions of the seatplank between the rings, as above described, the gangs are not only prevented from tipping laterally, but the range of independent movement is greatly increased, as the swing of the plank on either of its axis is limited only by contact with sleeves 11, and the usefulness of the machine is thereby enlarged. Furthermore, as the rings are held apart by the spacing sleeves frictional contact between them and the seat-plank is reduced to a minimum, and consequently'the gangs are freer to move farther apart or closer together in following crooked rows than if their selfadjustment were retarded by great friction between these parts.

The opposite ends of the rocker-shaft 4 project a suitable distance beyond brackets 6 to provide room for lateral adjustment of diskarms 21, secured at their upper ends to said shaft by caps 22 at an angle of about ninety degrees with the wheel-arms and carrying disks 23 at their lower ends.

24 indicates another transverse rockershaft journaled in the rear bearings 6 of bracket 6 and supported at its central portion by a hook 25, depending from the tongue, to prevent said shaft from springing beneath the strain occasioned by drawing shovels 26 through the soil. Said shovels are secured in the usual manner to the lower portions of shovel-beams 27, which latter are secured at their upper ends to shaft 24 with clips 28.

By'loosening said clips the shovel-beams may be adjusted laterally on the shaft in the wellknown manner.

The frame and cultivating appliances are raised and lowered by toggles (hereinafter identified) expanded by a hand-lever 29, and in order that the latter may be easily grasped from seat 30 I provide a brace 31, which is secured at its rear end to inner bracket 6, then extends forwardly and inwardly toward the seat a suitable distance, and then bends at right angles toward the tongue, to which its forward end is firmlysecured. Said brace carries at its forward portion a notched segment 32, adapted to be engaged by a springlatch 33 on the lever and provided with a bearing 34 in line with a bearing35 on a vertical plate 36, secured to the inner side of the tongue by bolts 37. Journaled in bearings 34and 35 is a transverse shaft 38, rigidly carrying at its inner end the hand-lever 29 and between the latter and the tongue a crankarm 39, which latter is pivotally connected at its lower end to a short link 40, having pivotal connection with a lever 41, rigidly mounted near its central portion on a short transverse shaft 42, journaled in the lower bearings 43 of vertical plates 36 36 and provided at its opposite end with a crank-arm 41. The opposite ends oflever 41 and crankarm 41 are pivotally connected to the upper ends of links 44, which latter are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the wheelarms 3. With this construction the driver is relieved of the labor of raising the frame and cultivating appliances by simply un-- latching the hand-lever, when the draft-animals pulling on the tongue will draw the frame up over the wheels, and thus elevate the disks and shovels.

To prevent the wheels from running over and destroying cornstalks inclining in their path, I provide gathering-arms 45, having flaring outer ends 46 to engage and straighten up the stalks. Said gathering-arms also form a connection for operating rocker-shaft 24 by pivotal connections at their-forward portions to lever 41 and crank-arm 41 and pivotal connection at their rear terminals to crankarm 47, secured upon the rocker-shaft with caps 48 and bolts 49. The lever 41 and crankshaft 41 constitute, in conjunction with the links 44 and gathering-arm links 45, a togglejoint connection between the tongue, the wheel-carrying arms, and arms 47 of shaft 24, which toggle by expansion under the independent forward and' upward movement of the tongue effect the raising of the cultivating appliances from the ground and under the independentrearward movement of the tongue eflect the lowering of said appliances to operative position, the ground-wheels remaining practically stationary during such action, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, and a transverse bar secured to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center.

2. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, and a bar upon said bolt and secured to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center.

3. A cultivator comprising 'two gangs, a pair of rings forming the upper portion of each gang, cross-bars, secured to the upper set of rings, and a seat-plank having its opposite ends interposed between the rings, and operatively secured to the cross bars, substantially as described.

4. In a cultivator, depending brackets each of which are provided with two bearings, rocker-shafts journaled in said bearings, and ground -wheels, and cultivating appliances secured to said shafts, substantially as described. v

5. In a cultivator, depending brackets provided with a plurality of boxes, rocker-shafts journaled in said boxes, cultivating appliances secured to the rocker-shafts, and means for simultaneously operating said rockershafts, substantially as described.

6. In a cultivator, depending triangular brackets, hearings in the lower corners thereof, rocker-shafts journaled in the bearings, and cultivating appliances secured to said rocker-shafts, substantially as described.

7. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt extending through the tongue, 2. cross-bar mounted on said bolt and secured to the upper ring at opposite sides of the bolt, and a sleeve mounted on said bolt and bearing at itsopposite ends against the upper side of the tongue and lower side of the cross-bar.

8. In a cultivator, a pair of tongues, a pair of rings secured to and above each tongue, a vertical bolt extending through eachtongue centrally of its rings, a cross-bar upon. each bolt and secured at its ends :to oppositesides of the contiguous upper ring, and a seatplank having its ends upon the lower rings I and below the upper ones and pivotally con nected to said bolts, and having also a sliding connection with at least one of said bolts.

9. In a cultivator, depending brackets provided with a plurality of-boxes, rocker-shafts journaled in said boxes, and cultivating EDP-1 pliances and ground-wheels secured to the rocker-shafts, substantially as described.

10. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pairof rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, a crossbar upon the bolt and connected to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center, brackets depending from the lower ring, a rock-shaft journaled therein, and cultivating appliances carried by said rock-shaft.

11. In a two row cultivator, depending brackets forming part of the gangs, tongues by which the cultivator is drawn, a seat-plank connecting the gangs and provided with a centrally-located seat,irregular-shaped braces secured at their opposite ends to the inner brackets and the inner sides of the tongues, and which extend over close to the seat, handlevers fulcrumed on said braces adjacent to the seat, and operatively secured to thecultivating appliances, substantially as described.

12. In a cultivator, a hand-lever suitably mounted, a link pivoted thereto, a lever suitably mounted and pivotally connected to the opposite end of the link, a rocker-shaft suitably journaled, a wheel-arm secured thereto, and a link pivotally connected at its opposite ends to said wheel-arm, and the last-mentioned lever, substantially as described.

13. In a cultivator, a hand-lever suitably mounted, a rocker-shaft suitably journaled and provided with cultivating appliances, crank-arms secured to the rocker-shaft, and gather-arms operatively connecting the handlever to the crank-arms, substantially as described.

14. In a cultivator, mounted, apair of rocker-shafts one of which is journaled in advance of the other, cultivating appliances and wheel-arms secured to the rocker-shafts, and suitable connections between the hand-lever and rocker-shafts whereby the movement of the former Wi-ll op-,

crate the latter, substantially as described.

15. In acultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, a transverse bar upon the bolt and connected to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center, brackets depending from the lower ring, a rock-shaft journaled therein, and cultivator appliances carrying arms adjustable on said shaft transversely of the line of draft.

16. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, a transverse bar upon the bolt and connected to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center,

a hand-lever suitably bra'cketscdepending from the lower ring, a rock-shaft journaled therein, and groundwheel-carrying arms mounted upon said shaft.

17. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, a transverse bar upon the bolt and connected to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center, brackets depending from the lower ring, a rock-shaft j ournaled therein, arms secured to and diverging downwardly from said shaft, disks carried by the rearmost arms and ground-wheels carried by the foremost arms;

18. In a cultivator, a tongue, a pair of rings secured to and above the same and one above the other, a vertical bolt disposed centrally of the rings and secured to the tongue, a transverse bar upon the bolt and connected to the upper ring at opposite sides of its center, brackets depending from the lower ring, a pair of parallel rock-shafts j ournaled therein, arms secured rigidly to and'divergingly downward from the foremost of said shafts, groundwheels and disks carried by said arms, and cultivating-apphance-carrying arms carried by the rearmost shaft. v

19. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, arms mounted on said shaft, ground-wheels carried by certainof said arms, and cultivating devices carried by the remaining arms rearward of the ground-wheels, and connections to lock the tongue and the ground-wheels in their relative positions.

20. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, arms mounted on said shaft, ground-wheels carried by certain of said arms and cultivating appliances carried by the remaining arms rearward of the grou nd-wheels, a toggle-joint connection between the tongue and ground-wheels, and means to lock and unlock said toggle-joint respectively, against and for expansive action.

21. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, arms mounted on said shaft, ground-wheels carried by certain of said arms and cultivating appliances carried by the remaining arms rearward of the ground-wheels, a toggle-joint connection between the tongue and ground-wheels, a lever supported from the tongue and connected to operate said toggle-joint, and means to lock said lever and said joint at the desired point.

22. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, arms mounted on said shaft,

ground-wheels carried by certain of said arms and cultivating appliances carried by the remaining arms rearward of the ground-wheels, a shaft supported from the tongue, a lever link connecting said lever with the upper end of the first-named lever.

23. In a cultivator,a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, arms mounted on said shaft,-

ground-wheels carried by certain of said arms and cultivating appliances carried by the remaining arms rearward of the ground-wheels, a shaft supported from the tongue, a lever rigid on said shaft and projecting beyond the same at each end, a crank-arm at the opposite end of said shaft, links pivotally connecting said crank-arm and the lower end of said lever with the wheel-carrying arms, a hand-lever supported from the tongue, a link connecting said lever with the upper end of the first-named lever, and a dog-and-sector mechanism for locking said hand-lever at the desired point of adjustment. 1

24. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a transverse shaft supported from and below said seat-supporting means, diverging arms mounted on said shaft, cultivating appliances on the rearmost of said arms, a toggle-joint connection between the tongue and the foremost of said arms, and means to lock and unlock said toggle-joint respectively, against and for expansive action.

25. In acultivator,a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a pair of transverse shafts supported from and below said seat-supporting means, diverging arms on the rearmost shaft, cultivating appliances-on the rearmost of said arms, arms depending from the foremost shaft, a toggle-joint connection between the tongue, the arms of the foremost shaft,and the foremost arms of the other shaft, and means to lock and unlock said toggle-joint respectively against and for expansive action.

2t. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-su pporting means carried thereby, a pair of transverse shafts supported from and below said seat-supporting means, diverging arms on the rearmost shaft, cultivating appliances on the rearmost of said arms, arms diverging downwardly from the foremost shaft, groundwheels carried by the foremost of said arms, and cultivating appliances by the others, a toggle-joint connection between the tongue, the arms of the foremost shaft, and the foremost arms of the other shaft, and means to lock and unlock said toggle-joint connection respectively, against and for expansive action.

27. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a pair of transverse shafts supported from and below said seat-supporting means, diverging arms on the rearmost shaft, cultivating appliances on the rearmost of said arms, arms diverging downwardly from the foremost shaft, ground- Wheels carried by the foremost of said arms, and cultivating appliances by the others,'a transverse shaft supported from the tongue and having a lever at one end and a crankarm at the other, links connecting said lever and crank-arm below said shaft to the foremost arms of said cuitivating-appliance-carrying shafts, a hand-lever supported from the tongue, a link connecting the hand-lever with the upper end of the first-named lever, and means for locking the hand-lever at the desired point of adjustment.

28. In a cultivator, a tongue, seat-supporting means carried thereby, a pair of transverse shafts supported from and below said seat-supporting means, diverging arms on the rearmost shaft, cultivating appliances on the rearmost of said arms, arms diverging downwardly from the foremost shaft, groundwheels carried by the foremost of said arms, and cultivating appliances by the others, a transverse shaft supported from the tongue and having a lever at one end and a crank arm at the other, links connecting said lever and crank-arm below said shaft to the foremost arms of said cultivating-appliance-carF rying shafts, the ones connected to the rear shaft extending forwardly past said lever and flaring outwardly; a hand-lever supported from the tongue, a link connecting the handlever with the upper end of the first-named lever, and means for locking the hand-lever at the desired point of adjustment.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CARL L. SWANSON. 

